The Split Mouth Woman
by Kairiangel035
Summary: Urban legends and scary stories are very common to tell on Halloween, but sometimes...the story is real...


**The Split mouth woman**

"And they were never heard from again." My blond haired friend whispered as she held the flashlight close to her face to add dramatic effect. As stupid as that may seem, it does add a bit or horror while in a dark room.

I couldn't help but laugh at myself a little as I found myself trembling in terror. "That's actually a pretty good urban legend Nami, where did you hear that one?" I asked.

She stood up and crossed the small distance that was between us and adjusted her bloody maid costume before placing her hands gently on top of my shoulders. "It's a true story Kairi, this actually happened to some kids in the area not too long ago."

"Right, and I'm the angel of death." I said as I brushed her hands lightly off me and stood up, making a gesture of my costume.

"It's true Kai, I've heard rumors about that going around." countered the girl with short black hair sitting diagonal from me as she started chewing on her candy bar, and I wondered why any of us were letting her eat it with her energy.

I just nodded and started gathering my things as I began to realize how late it was. "I'm sure Yuffie, women with their mouths cut from ear to ear wearing long trench coats often roam the streets on foggy nights."

As I started to fling my bag over my shoulder I felt another hand grab onto the strap. "What are you doing? You're not seriously leaving now are you? It's late and it's Halloween, plus you have no one to go with you!" Namine protested as her hair fell in front of her face, which made me want to laugh because she seemed so perfect and now was slowly becoming a wreck.

"I''ll be fine," I promised as I removed her grip of my bag and held it for a second, "Plus I need to get home before my parents kill me." I finished as I pulled her into a quick gentle hug, then waved at Yuffie. "I'll come over first thing tomorrow."

Yuffie quickly jumped up and waved as she crammed the rest of her candy into her mouth and waved back, quickly swallowing what she could get down, "Be safe out there, stay way from any girls wearing trench coats and surgical masks."  
"And avoid foggy area's that's where she hides." the blond chirped in, just making the situation worse.

"You guys!" I whined as I cocked my head in disbelief. It was silly for them to act like children over some form of ghost story, the likelihood of something so outrageous happening was unlikely. "I can take care of myself, I promise I'll be safe." I said to come them down.

The blond gave me a quick hug one last time "Alright, then we'll see you in the morning."

With that final goodbye I took it as permission to finally exit her house without being harassed by there new found fear by an urban legend. Sure they may be scarier than ghost stories because something similar can happen, but this was a lot closer to a ghost story. I walked down the road a couple of blocks and then I hit the city limits, but something seemed off. The bright clear lights that should be shining brightly through any kind of condition were glowing yellow through dense fog, making everything around me light up eerily.

I shivered a little and wrapped my arms around my chest and began rubbing my hands against my bare arms as the temperature around the area noticeably dropped right away. I felt terrified as I walked through the dense fog, feeling silly that I was beginning to think of that story Namine had told not a half hour ago. The Kuchisake-Onna wasn't real, there was no way some woman's mouth was slit by a jealous husband and is now haunting the streets. Nope, the story was fake, but still...

As I got lost in my thoughts I collided into something hard and I fell onto my back, luckily my fake black wings broke most of my fall. "Damn, I'm so sorry about that. I wasn't watching where I was...going?" I was cut off at the sight of the back of a tan trench coat and long black hair. I could feel my heart come to a dead stop as the woman turned around and she was wearing a surgical mask over the bottom half of her face, but then I remembered that it was Halloween, and it was most likely just a costume.

The girl turned around to completely face me, and by the way her eyes crinkled up a bit, I could tell she was smiling under the mask. "Oh, it's fine, I'm just a little lost." she said, sounding a little frightened and innocent. I felt bad for the girl, I was being silly for being afraid of her for a moment. "Do you mind walking with me for a little while, I don't live far from here...'angel of death.'" she said as she looked at my costume.

I gave her a small nod as I pushed myself back onto my feet. "Sure I live in that direction anyway, it's better than being alone right? Before she even answered me, she grabbed my hand and started running down the street, dragging me along so fast everything was passing in a blur until we were in an ally way.

She sat in silence for a moment before she looked at me. "Do you think I'm pretty?"

"What?" I said as my breath hitched in my throat, my heart starting to pound against my ribcage.

"I said, do you think I'm pretty?" She said as she leaned closer to me, her voice still keeping a light and innocent tone.

I examined the girl closely and was hypnotized by her deep brown eyes and how flawless her features were. She was almost perfect, and I started to feel a little jealous of her. "Yes, of course I think you're pretty. Any girl would be lucky to be as beautiful as you." I answered anxiously, hoping she was just joking around and playing the part of her costume. I stood there for a second as cold sweat starting running down my face, every inch of me holding onto the part of the scene that she would say 'just kidding,' and that would be that.

The girl curled her hand into a light fist and brought it in front of her covered mouth and giggled. The sound was so light and innocent that I loosened up and closed my eyes as I released a breath that I didn't know I was holding. Before there was a moment for me to say anything to her she spoke up. "Aww that's so sweet of you, but do you think I'm pretty now?" I jumped up, my body tensing up twice as much as my eyes opened wide just in time to watch her remove the mask and revealed the rest of her face. It was mutilated and scarred, the cuts starting from the corners of her mouth all the way up to her ears. In that moment I felt paralyzed, when people say that your scared enough you can't scream...they were right.

The feeling of helplessness overtook me as I looked at the woman, who looked at me calmly, waiting for me to answer her again. I couldn't believe that the Kuchisake-Onna was actually real, and I was chosen to be her victim. My mind lost it's will to think at this point so I decided to be nice in this situation and compliment her. "Yes, I do think you're still pretty. Nothing can change that about you." I replied as honestly as I could as hot tears started to roll down my cheeks from fear, my body trembling and cold sweat covering me.

She smiled at me and cocked her head to the side as her body became more and more transparent until she finally vanished. It took me a minute to recover myself from the encounter before I dropped my bag and started running as fast as I could home. As I reached my block I realized the moments passed in a blur and I was missing my costume wings, I guess they were slowing me down but I felt at ease as I stepped onto the porch and neared the front door. The encounter just moments before started easing out of my mind as my hand touched the door handle, then I felt something sharp enter my back.

I gasped as sharp pains started filling my body from my spine as I felt a sharp, cold, metal object getting shoved deeper into my back until I heard the discs in my spine crack and seperate as warm liquid started running down my back. I couldn't cry, but I felt like I was suffocating on liquid that was filling my lungs. Tears started to well up and spill over as the pain took over my body as I started shaking. After a few seconds the pain started to fade and my body started to go limp as blood fell down on the ground around me, spilling from my back and lips, but I couldn't feel it anymore, nor my tears. The only thing that I was aware of was the light feeling taking over as my eyes started to feel heavy, then I fell to the ground as I heard the girl laugh hysterically.

_**Authors Note: Alright so this is the most messed up thing I have ever written in quite a while to say the least, but it had to be done in the spirit of Halloween. As you can probably tell this is based of the Japanese urban legend of the Kuchisake-Onna or in plain English, the split mouth woman. Don't worry, if you weren't satisfied with the main ending just flip though and find an alternate ending, a couple are good, a couple are bad. Also, this is the main ending because I'm pretty sure most people in this situation would tell her that she's pretty in hopes of living, sadly though this lady greets you at home and kills you if you tell her she is.**_

__**Alternate Ending 1 (Bad)**

I looked down the ally way that we ran into, and it was silent between us for a few moments. All I was able to do was watch the mysterious girl that I had ran into and I could tell she was watching me too. "Do you think I'm pretty?" she asked me, being the first to break the silence.

For some reason her question angered me, it was bad enough she was dressed up like the Kuchisake-Onna, but to act like her? That was just a sick Halloween joke nobody could get behind, nobody likes watching urban legends acted out . "No!" I shouted out in frustration, Hoping that would make her drop the stupid act, and maybe just be a normal person again like she had been a few minutes ago instead of trying to scare the shit out of me.

My legs were trembling at her horrible joke but I just watched as she looked at me for a moment then shook her head slowly in disapproval. Her pale hand gracefully snaked inside her tan trench coat and dug around for a pocket for a brief moment before she pulled out an overly-comical sized pair of scissors that glinted in the light. "Wrong answer Kairi." she said in a giggle.

Before I could question how she knew my name or why she was carrying such a large pair of sheers, she launched the object in my direction, then a sharp pain slammed into my neck and blood splattered out of my mouth and throat as my body collapsed to the ground like an anvil and everything was dark.

_**Authors Note: So okay, don't say no to her right away. That just angers her into killing you on the spot. I bet you guys are wondering if there is a way out of this situation.**_

__ **Alternate Ending 2 (Good)**

"Do you think I'm pretty?" the girl asked as her eyes locked onto mine in a dead stare.

I couldn't help but stare at her as the tension built up in my body, I had to admit she was beautiful and pretty much flawless. "Yes, you are very pretty." I managed to squeak out through my fear.

She started to giggle in which I could only imagine at this point to be flattery. I relaxed a bit and started to laugh with her, thinking of the sheer stupidity of the situation. Then in a flash her hand swept across her face and removed her surgical mask "Do you think I'm pretty now?" she asked as she relieved the gruesome cuts and scars that led from her mouth to her ears.

I froze in place not sure of what to do or how to answer her. I was afraid to answer her, knowing if I answered wrong it could be the end of me. We stood in silence, neither one moving but just staring intently at each other, mine with her, her's emotionless. Before either of us knew what was happening I reached into my pocket and took a step forward, pulling out a piece of hard amber candy, holding it out in the woman's direction. "H-here." I stuttered as I offered it to her, unsure of what I was doing, but I guess this was better than risking the wrong answer.

The Kuchisake-Onna stared at me, then the candy, then back at me again confusion filling her eyes. "This is...for me?" she asked pointing to the candy, innocence filling her eyes as if this was the first kind thing anyone has ever done for her.

I relaxed as I saw her murderous intent fade and was replaced by a kinder, softer look. "Y-yes! Of course this is for you. It is Halloween after all, the holiday where people have tons of candy to give others. I have way to much so I might as well give this to you, I'm not a big fan of this kind but...you might like it." I said with a nervous giggle.

The look of confusion faded into a gentle smile as she took the candy. "Thank you." she said before turning away and disappearing right in front of me as she held the small hard sugary treat tight in her hand.

I sighed in relief and collapsed to the ground, shocked that I got out of that situation with a simple piece of amber candy.

_**Authors Note: This part of the legend actually surprised me as well. There are a couple of ways to get away from dying but this one was quite interesting to me, who know vengeful spirits had a soft spot for candy?**_

**Alternate Ending 3 (Bad)**

"Do you think I'm pretty now?" the mysterious girl asked as she removed her mask, revealing the cuts that gave her the name Kuchisake-Onna.

I started to tremble at the horrifying sight, tears stinging my eyes as fear overcame me. "N-no..." I muttered to scared to think about the situation, just saying the words that came to mind. My mind realized only too late that it had made me say the wrong thing as my body was violent slammed into the brick wall behind me, my head hitting hard enough for my ears to start ringing.

"I'm sorry but that's the wrong answer." she smiled coldly. "I guess I'll have to show you what it's like to live this way."

"No, p-please don't hurt me." I started crying out as the sobs shook my frame. A scream escaped my lips as I felt something cold and metallic brush against my cheek, as she pulled it back I saw it was a large pair of scissors.

Her smile grew wider as she kept teasing the heated flesh on my jaw. "That's a no can do right there." she laughed as she brought her knee up and knocked me hard in the stomach so she wouldn't release her grip on me.

My mouth open and let out a silent scream as the air was forced from my lungs and the metallic blades quickly entered and rested on the inside and outside of my cheek. Before I had the chance to plead for her not to do what I knew she would I felt the scissors press on both sides as sharps pains sliced though it and ripped the delicate tissue in half. I screamed the loudest I have ever screamed in my life as blood and muscle fell to the ground between us, my sobs shaking my frame as I experience the worst pain I have ever felt in my life.

"One side done, one more to go." she cooed in delight as she took the opportunity between my screams to put the blades on my other cheek and made quick work of that side, causing me to scream louder and cry more as I watched a couple chunks of my cheek hit the ground. "See that wasn't so bad was it?" she smirked as she patted my head, her hands stained red with my blood.

"You psychotic bitch!" I yelled and I could feel the flaps of loose skin move with my words and whatever muscle was there ached as the bone became exposed to the cool air. It hurt to cry at this point, but the more the salty water entered my fresh wounds, the more the tears came.

She just laughed at me and left, leaving me to bleed out. All I could do was press my hands to my cheeks to hold them together, blood pouring out from the spaces between my fingers as I walked around crying for help, but each person that passed me ran as far away as the could. I was growing weaker by the second, but by this point I knew no one would help me and I felt myself get heavier until I collapsed on the concrete beneath me.

_**Authors Note: So, it's safe to say not to say no at all to this girl, she is not friendly. This is probably the most painful thing I think she could do to you honestly. I would rather get killed quickly than ever have to go through this**_

__**Alternate Ending 4 (Good)**

All I could do was stare at her uncovered face, surprisingly this didn't bother me as much as I would have thought it would. 'Do you think I'm pretty now?' was her question and my eyes traveled from her mouth to her eyes as I prepared to answer. I gave my shoulders a nonchalant shrug, acting like I hardly cared. "I'd say your about average I guess, just like every other girl in this town."

Once the words were said I watched her closely, studying to plan my next move as I watched her hand which was reaching for something freeze. "Wait, I'm What?"

This was my chance, while she seemed dazed and confused by my response I spun on one foot and ran as fast as my legs could carry me, throwing my bag down to the ground to lighten my load. I couldn't afford to have anything slow me down now, and I pulled my false wings off as they started to cause some drag behind me. I took a shortcut through the park and ended up tripping down a hill, I could feel the rocks hidden in the grass cut my knees open, but I didn't care. Once down at the bottom, I quickly pushed myself up and kept running the last half mile to my house, not once looking back.

The last few blocks were a nightmare to run since my lungs were heavy as breathing became complicated, my heart pounding violently against my ribcage and the muscles in my legs burned with protest, but never once did I slow until I crashed through my front door.

Once in the safety of my house I slammed the door and allowed myself to collapse on the hardwood floor below me. My body was exhausted and my knees were bloody and caked with dirt but none of that mattered. I just laid there and laughed for several minutes as my mind finally wrapped around the fact I had actually escaped the Kuchisake-Onna with my life.

_**Authors Note: Remember kids, when in doubt confuse any evil spirit you may encounter. Your chances of survival will increase this way. **_

_**There you have it, all alternate endings to a twisted tale, but I found that I did an okay job writing a horror story since I don't really write them often.**_


End file.
